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26 Jun 2013

Esther Hannaford

Photo by James Morgan

The new epic musical King Kong, which premiered in Australia June 15 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, could possibly arrive on Broadway next year, according to The New York Times.

Producer Carmen Pavlovic of Global Creatures told the Times that she anticipates launching a second production of King Kong in 2014, with a third to follow in 2015. Additional cities such as London, Seoul, Japan, Germany and Holland are also potential markets for the pop musical.

King Kong's Broadway arrival depends on the availability of a Broadway theatre with enough backstage space to accommodate the elaborate production, which stars a six-meter tall puppet as Kong. Pavlovic said that there are roughly four or five theatres capable of housing King Kong, none of which is currently available.

King Kong, which was originally on sale through July 28, has now extended its Melbourne booking through Aug. 18.

A group of 35 on-stage and off-stage puppeteers work to manipulate the large-scale puppet. Several puppeteers are positioned on swinging trapezes and others launch themselves as counterweights off the puppet's shoulders to raise Kong's massive arms as he runs and swipes at planes during the performance.

The new musical features a book by Lucas (Marry Me A Little, The Light in the Piazza), who also contributed lyrics. Composer and arranger Marius de Vries, whose credits include the soundtracks for "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo + Juliet," created and oversees a score that features revamped versions of 1930s Broadway classics like "Get Happy," "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" as well as new and existing songs from a mix of contemporary artists: Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack, Sarah McLachlan, Justice, Guy Garvey from Elbow and The Avalanches. A key collaborator on the musical landscape for the show is Stephen Pavlovic from Modular People; Michael Mitnick has contributed lyrics to several new compositions.

Here's a listen to the songs in King Kong:

Director Kramer said in a previous statement, "It’s tempting to focus on the spectacle of King Kong himself. But it is only through the humanity of the life around him – the people of New York City, the comic megalomania of filmmaker Carl Denham, the stubborn opposition of first mate Jack Driscoll, and the grace, beauty and power of our leading lady, Ann Darrow – that he truly takes life. After three years of auditions and workshops, it is an honour to introduce the world premiere cast of King Kong."

The musical, according to press notes, "has gone back to the source – the novella of the original film by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace – in this world-first adaptation as a large-scale musical. Featuring a cast of 49 actors, singers, dancers, circus performers and puppeteers; a crew of 76; and arguably the most technologically advanced puppet in the world - a one-tonne, six-metre giant silverback - King Kong will be an epic and dazzlingly original theatrical experience."

The character of King Kong, according to producers, is "an imposing, stylised silverback of exaggerated proportions...a highly sophisticated animatronic/marionette hybrid that will be controlled by the integration of hydraulics, automation and the manual manipulation from a team of puppeteer/aerialists (The King’s Men) on stage, and off."